IGNORING THE 20TH CENTURY, PART II:

Analysis: Medicare drug card evolving (Ellen Beck, 5/17/2004, UPI)

Market forces are working their charms on prices up at the Medicare drug discount card Web site and the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Monday he is looking for feedback from seniors on any problems they encounter.

CMS Administrator Dr. Mark McClellan also pledged seniors will see a more "personalized" health insurance program going forward as the agency tries to help them with other healthcare issues.

When the prescription drug card site, accessible through Medicare.gov, went live a couple of weeks ago, not all vendors had card information available. In addition, the site was difficult to navigate and the prices varied widely. That was before the 73 card vendors got a chance to see what the competition was offering.

For example, a check on 30 tablets of the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx cost anywhere from $77 to $160, depending on vendor, when the site first went live. By Monday, the same check produced prices within a $77-$85 range.

There were some early problems getting the correct drug price information on the site but that has, for the most part, been worked out between CMS and the vendors, sources told United Press International.

A CMS analysis found the average price across all cards has dropped by 11.5 percent for brands and 12.5 percent for generic drugs since the comparisons began.

A study of 150 drugs used more frequently by seniors, conducted by the Lewin Group for the Healthcare Leadership Council, found seniors will save an average of 20 percent with the discount cards compared to pharmacy retail prices.

Do you suppose the folks who are surprised when market forces render efficiencies are shocked that the sun comes up every morning?

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 17, 2004 11:00 PM